


Salami Surprise

by SonyB89



Series: Characters of Pedro Pascal [10]
Category: Brothers & Sisters
Genre: F/M, Meet-Cute, self indulgent much?, zach deserves all the love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 19:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30127926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonyB89/pseuds/SonyB89
Summary: Zachs lunch break gets interrupted by an uninvited guest - a young woman insists on paying him back
Relationships: Zach Wellison x Original female character
Series: Characters of Pedro Pascal [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2121489
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Salami Surprise

> **Salami Surprise**

Zach was a fan of dogs.  
They were loyal and had the potential for unconditional love.

But the little german shepherd puppy in front of him almost had him cry in agony.

He hadn’t eaten a decent meal in two days.   
The five dollar bill he had found on the sidewalk had seemed like a godsend.

Zach had bought a salami sandwich, a bottle of water and an apple. 

Making himself comfortable, he had sat down under a tree in the park, ready to savor his meal – and then, the little hell beast had stormed out from a nearby bush, had tackled him and was now _Eating. His. Sandwich._

No matter how cute that dog was, Zachs stomach reacted with a violent churn.

“Ollie? _Ollie_?!”

Both him and the dog turned their heads as they heard the voice of a woman from a few feet away. She was looking around frantically, out of breath, leaning her hands on her knees.

A leash was dangling from her hands, her jeans were covered in mud and her chestnut colored hair was disheveled. 

Zach couldn’t help the image of a caramel sundae popping into his head – a sweet, sugary treat.

  
She was chubby, well fed one might say.   
Her glasses, with a wooden frame were trying to hide a pair of green eyes and her cheeks had the same red color as the apple he was holding.  
  
The mud spotted jeans were topped off with a caramel colored shirt and a dark blue and white striped flannel shirt.

He didn’t have time to assess her any further before she spotted him and the dog who had obviously ran away from her.

“I am so terribly sorry”, she said as she approached, looking mortified.   
“The leash suddenly snapped and he ran _– oh no_. _Ollie_?! Tell me you didn’t just gobble up this nice mans sandwich.”

“He did…”, Zach said, surprisingly sounding less angry than he actually was.

Ollie just gave her an adorable look and let his tongue dangle out of his mouth.

“ _Oh for the love of—_ “, the woman groaned, putting the leash back on Ollies collar with a tight knot where it had snapped.

The woman looked around the park and Zach hoped that she didn’t hear the grumbling of his stomach.

She spotted a food truck on the edge of the park that had set out some benches for people to sit in the early spring sun and catch some much needed vitamin D after the winter.

“Let me pay you back”, she offered. “Do you like tacos?”

Before he could answer, his stomach did the talking for him.   
His pride dictated that he just let it go and turn the other way, but his hunger ordered him to just take the offer and be grateful.

“Sounds great”, he sighed, shouldering his duffle bag and followed the soft woman back to the trail through the park and in the direction of the food truck.

 _Soft_ was a good description for her, he thought as he took the chance to watch her a little closer. 

He was willing to bet that she had never had to worry about food in her life.   
She was not fat per se, and of course he knew that ones body type did not necessarily tell the story of someones diet.

She just seemed healthy, kind and somewhat naïve. He war surprised that his Marine sense was tingling with the want to protect this woman from harm, should it ever come her way.

“Any preference?”, she asked as she tied the leash to one of the benches and waited for him to sit down.

He was about to say “whatever is cheapest”, but then just shrugged his shoulders.  
“Anything is fine, really.”

“Alright then”, she said, smiling, then looking down at Ollie.  
“And you behave until I get back, Mister.”

As soon as she went to get in line, Zach and Ollie had a staring match.

Zach tried his best to give the puppy a glare, but the little german shepherd just whined and then lay down on the grass, putting his head on his boot.

He sighed and gave the little pup a scratch on the head, which earned him a grateful lick.

“Here we go, two taco surprise menus, two chicken caesar wraps, fries, soda pops and desert”, she announced, placing a tablet full of food on the table.

Zach tried not to ogle, but it was hard not to stare.

“Your dog ate my salami sandwich, not the entire contents of my bag”, he said.

The woman had the audacity to blush, sitting down opposite him and grabbing one of the tacos.

“Sorry, I was hungry.”

Before starting to eat, she reached out her hand.  
“I’m Robin, by the way. And the little rascal at your feet is Ollie.”

“Zach”, he just said, and started to dig in as soon as she had taken her first bite.  
If she was surprised at the way he almost inhaled the food, she didn’t let it show.

Sometime during the meal she tied her hair back into a ponytail, showing him that her ears were pierced with silver pins, three on her right ear, two on her left.

She fed Ollie a few fries when he started to beg.

“I’m really sorry, Zach. I guess he’s still not used to being fed on a regular basis”, she said.  
“He was a homeless little stray just two weeks ago, probably living off scraps he could find. But now he’s a healthy, clean, good boy. Aren’t you, Ollie? Yes, yes you aaare!”

Ollie just wiggled his tail and continued being adorable, but Zach suddenly had a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn’t reply, just continued eating at a slower pace.

“So”, she said, picking up the conversation again, “where are you headed, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Huh?”

She pointed at his duffle bag and took a sip of her soda pop.  
“Your luggage, a to-go sandwich. Are you on a trip?”

At this moment Zach stopped eating altogether.  
He couldn’t figure out if she was patronizing him, if she was dense, or just really that naïve.

“You’re joking, right?”, he said, trying to suppress the anger in his voice.  
No matter how many tacos she bought him, he would _not_ be humiliated.

The look she gave him was so innocent, he was convinced that she really had no clue.  
  
Sighing, he said: “I’m homeless, Robin.”

If he hadn’t been so annoyed by the situation, he would have thought her reaction almost cute.

It took a few seconds for the information to register in her brain, before she gasped, her pupils dilated in shock and her eyes went form his duffle bag, to his face, down his body and clothes and back to his face again.

She was so flustered it was almost adorable. If only the shock on her face wasn’t there.

“Oh.. oh god, Zach, I’m so sorry. You must think me incredibly insensitive. I- I didn’t offend you by inviting you, did I? Did I do something to- _Oh god_ , Ollie ate your sandwich. I’m so sorry.”

She kept on rambling and Zach couldn’t help but forgive her.

It was easy, and his Marine sense started tingling again. 

He had the desire to protect the innocence of this woman, who couldn’t even recognize a homeless man when she saw one, thinking that the world was a place where everyone was happy.

“You’re not from around here, are you, _cookie_?”, he asked, trying out a nickname that enhanced her cuteness - and maybe to tease her just a little bit.

She blushed and started rubbing Ollies head for comfort.

“N-No”, she mumbled. “I moved here from Europe for a graduate program at university and got offered a job, so I stayed. I’ve been here almost four years and the city is still a big blank spot for me. I found Ollie two weeks ago, stuck in a storm drain, drenched to the bone. I took him to the vet and he doesn’t have a chip. So I kept him.”

After that, conversation was a little lighter but they didn’t talk about anything with deep meaning.  
As it started to get chilly, Robin stood up and tried to get the mud off her jeans.

“Ollie took off in such a hurry I slipped and fell in a puddle”, she explained. “I should get home and get out of these dirty clo—”

She stopped, mid sentence, a mortified look in her eyes.  
“Sorry, I’m being insensitive again.”

Zach shook his head, honestly a little touched that someone would care so much about what they said around him, just to not offend him.

“It’s fine.”

Robin shook her head.  
“It’s not, but it’s nice of you to say so.”

Wrapping the untouched caesar salad wrap that was left over in a few napkins, she gave it to him.  
“I insist you take this. Hurry up and pack it before Ollie has a go at it.”

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but feel grateful.

“Thanks for lunch, Robin”, he said, shouldering his bag again.

She shifted on her feet, her thighs touching, the friction of the fabric emitting an enticing sound.

“Are you—”, she began, gripping Ollies leash a bit tighter. “Will you be fine here?”

He couldn’t help but smile at her concern.

Normally his pride would kick him in the balls for not giving a biting remark – but somehow he didn’t have it in him to burst this soft womans bubble.

“I’ll be fine.”

With a wave and another scratch for Ollies ears, he sent the pair on their way, watching them until they had left the park.

  
It was the first time in a long while that he hoped he would see someone again.

***


End file.
